Life's Worth
by Jolinar773
Summary: They say human life is priceless, but how much more can someone who no longer cares about it take before his debt is repaid?


**Welcome my fellow yaoi fans! **

**Since I've played Vesperia, the idea of the true nature of the relationship between Alexei and Schwann/Raven just wouldn't leave my mind... so I came up with this... as rotten as I am, fangirl to the bone! And you know the most riddiculous part? I was finished in a matter of days, but it took me AGES to come up with a name for this fic... I suck at naming things Y_Y**

**Anyway, I don't own ToV or any of the characters, if I did there would already be proper english release of the game for PS3 with all the features... **

**Also, this is rated M for a reason, believe me... it's a yaoi inspired by anime called Hyakujitsu no Bara after all, meaning male x male relationship (sort of), rape, light bondage and quite explicit sexual scenes, so if you don't like it, don't read it... or skip the whole middle of the story, though it probably won't make much sense that way... WARNED YA!**

**Please excuse the grammatical mistakes too, I'm not a native speaker and some just keep eluding me... **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Open the gate, quickly!" a voice called from a distance and he could see blurry shapes running toward him, though if they were human or monsters he couldn't tell.

Shadow, blocking the ruby rays of sun disappearing slowly over the treetops of Quoi Woods, let him know when somebody bent over him to check if he was still alive. He rather doubted it at the moment, for now feeling like he wouldn't even have enough strength to let out more than a grunt, let alone keep his eyes open or stand up on his own.

"He's alive! C'mere you two, help me take him inside!" this voice was different from the one he heard earlier and with eyelids still unable to lift up he listened to hurried footsteps and felt himself being hoisted up and carried away.

More scurrying and mufled voices surrounded him once they crossed what he considered to be a drawbridge, judging by the clanging of chains as it closed behind them. His current condition seemed to draw attention of quite a crowd of people.

"Somebody call a healer!" one of them called out, while he was being brought into a shed of some sort and laid down. The aer felt strangely cool in there, comforting, soothing and he could feel the exhaustion fading.

"Hey, I know that guy! He's one of Don Whitehorse's men." somebody else exclaimed like it was the most important revelation of the century.

There was a flapping sound of a tent opening and clearly female voice, tinted with irritation. "Yeah? Well, thanks for the info, Mister Obvious, now GET OUT! All of you!"

There were protests and a lot of shuffling, though in a matter of seconds his surrounding went silent, except the sound of the woman's feet clearly edging closer. "You can drop the pretense, Raven. I'm not about to waste my blastia when there's obviously nothing wrong with you."

He let out a theatrical grunt of pain, one sea-blue eye cracking slightly open. "Nah, there's... " he coughed loudly. "...deffinitely somethin' wrong with me." more coughing and he raised his hand to cover the blastia in his chest through the purple fabric of his shirt.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, lose strand of long golden hair fell over her forehead and she shoved it behind her ear as she leaned over him to check if he's not hurt after all. Small mirth tugged at Raven's lips at that point and he faked more coughing and wheezing untill her face was barely inches from his own.

"I really can't see anything wrong." she said after a while, her fingers lightly searching his body. "But still, just to make sure." she outstretched her hands, preparing a healing formula in her mind, but as she did so, Raven gripped them in his own, pulling her closer still.

"No need fer blastia, darlin'. A kiss might do the trick." he pursed his lips, the song of victory echoing in his ears before it was exchanged for the exquisite and not at all pleasurable sensation of being hit straight in the face. Hard.

The grunt of pain was now more than genuine and the force of her punch made him roll out of the makeshift bed he's been lying on and hit the back of his head hard on a metal stake of yet another tent, still folded and resting against the crates of pottery in the corner, obviously ready for export.

She rounded up at him, angry red vein pulsing on her temple, fist raised and shaking with rage. "You perverted OLD MAN!" with the last word she sliced the air to deliver another blow, though this time Raven saw it coming and rolled out of harm's way with speed and skill becoming of his status of the Don's right-hand man as well as the First Captain of the Imperial Knights.

"Oh no, you don't!" she yelled when she saw him quickly getting to his feet about to get away and began summoning magic to stop him.

"C'mon, darlin', it was a joke!" he raised his hands defensively, seeing there's no escape from this, stumbling backwards. "I've been walkin' almost all the way from Dahngrest, n' these ol' bones just needed a break!"

She started at the mention of the Guild City and the blastia in her headdress stopped shining. Raven heaved a sigh of relief, scratching the back of his head, which he immediately regretted, for the simple act brought a whole new kind of pain to his already aching body as he touched the bump growing there.

"Dahngrest?" she repeated, her auburn eyes narrowing again as she scrutinized him. "You're reporting to the Commandant then?"

The atmosphere between them changed rapidly with this statement, the smile adorning Raven's handsome tanned face dissapeared instantly and he noded.

Her brows furrowed. "Still running to him like a dog whenever he whistles? You know he's going kill you one day, don't you?" she crossed her arms on her chest, her expression changing from dissaproving to worrying.

Raven's lips curled up again and he shrugged. "Yeah, well, stuff like that don't matter to a dead man anyway."

She let out not very lady-like snort, closing the space between them with two long strides and gripping Raven by the shirt. "Again with the nonsense, you idiot!" she shook him violently and when she saw the surprise in his expression, she let go quickly and blushed.

His eyes twinkled with mischief. "Oh? Might ya be worryin' 'bout ol' Raven?" he put on what he considered to be the most sexy look and winked at her.

"I-I-In your dreams, you old perv!" she said, but her voice no longer held the icy edges it did whenever she talked to him before. "Now get out before Alexei starts wondering where you are! More of your ilk is the last thing we need here!"

Raven grinned slyly, ignoring her blurted denial. "Aw, how nice!" he spread his arms in an eloquent gesture of invitation. "How 'bou a hug fer the journey then? Or kiss fer luck?"

He knew he had crossed the line with that one the moment her gleaming emerald eyes zeroed in on him and a strong aura of impending doom surrounded her, mixing together with the crackling of magic when her blastia began shining brightly again.

He could only gulp...

... and a split second later the residents of Deidon Hold could hear a yell of "OUT!" and see something shoot out of the healer's tent and fall to the ground, skidding to a halt some ten meters away, smoke rising from it.

"Ouch." scraped through Raven's throat as he lay in the dust, his clothes and skin singed in places and his body aching more than ever before. "That hurt."

o*O*o

The morning came all too soon for Raven and he tossed and turned on the bed inside the Knights Headquarters holding cell here in Deidon Hold, where he got himself locked up the day before after being so unceremoniously thrown into the village square and lying on the dusty ground for good half an hour. Single golden ray of sun coming through the small window over his head, caressed his eyelids, coaxing them open and not even rolling to his side helped him get rid of the annoying light. With a sigh Raven sat up, nictating into a bucked of water standing by the bed, groaning with displeasure before tugging at the scrunchy binding his hair into a fuzzy ponytail, setting the raven strands loose to fall oved his forehead and cover one of his sea-blue eyes.

The sight reminded him of the man he was for Commandant Alexei and the Knights. He didn't see Raven anymore, there was only Schwann Oltorain. If he had a heart it would probably be aching right now, but circumstances as they were, he could only imagine it, though the hermes blastia in his chest seemed to be giving off more warmth that usual.

He shook his head, unable to look at his reflection any longer and buried his hands in his hair, gathering it up and tying it again at the back of his head, glad that at least the bumpfrom yesterday did not leave a trace. Once more there was Raven of the guild of Altosk looking back at him out of the glossy water surface when he looked again.

Sound of heavy footsteps on the cold stone dungeon pavement interrupted his silent musing and he looked up to the guard coming to view.

"Hey there, sunshine!" Raven chirped in his most sing song voice, putting on one of his usual easy-going smiles.

The guard did not seem impressed. Although there was no telling what he was hiding underneath the helmet covering his face. He didn't say a thing, only took out a bundle of keys and used one to open Raven's cell.

The archer got up, walking lazily out, watching the guard with an amused smile on his face; previous thoughts almost entirely forgotten by now. "Good night's rest's all this ol' man needed." he stretched and yawned. "But now I hafta get goin'. Nice meetin' ya all, fellas." and waved goodbye while walking up the stairs into the early morning light bathing Deidon Hold in its warming embrace and on to be on his way to Zaphias again, not that he particularly desired to go there.

Mostly, because the journey took about another half a day and Raven hated having to walk just because _'It would look suspicious to give you a horse, don't you think?' _as the Commandant never seemed to forget to emphasize, just as much as he hated dealing with Alexei in general. That man knew every vulnerability Raven ever had and never failed to exploit all of them as much as possible and of course also never let slip the oportunity to remind the raven-haired archer of his rightful place in his little game of chess. Which was probably one of the main reasons Raven shivered under the cold finger of dread running up and down his spine the moment he set foot inside the barrier protecting Zaphias from monsters lurking in the wilderness outside the city for some poor slob stupid enough not to heed the warnings of the guards standing at the entrance, keeping their vigil over its citizens.

As he approached one of them, the man recognized him instantly, jumping to attention, snapping his heels together in a way of greeting. Raven waved his hand in dismissal and the guard immediately relaxed again, standing aside to let him through into the hidden passage opening up behind his back.

There were many entrances to these ancient underground tunnels throughout the city, mostly used by Alexei's spies to minimize the danger of them being seen by too many people. Raven counted among them of course, which could be obvious from the familiarity he was moving with in almost complete darkness, penetrated only by slightly warm orange light of a fire produced by tiny blastia stuck here and there within the solid stone walls of long corridors barely two meters wide and three in heigth. Though the ghostly echo of his footsteps as he made his way to the Imperial Palace, didn't make him feel any better no matter how many times he walked through this slippery maze. Heavy sigh of relief when he came out of a trapdoor in his own quiet, sun-drenched quarters couldn't be helped.

It was a small, simple room with a single window into the now surprisingly deserted courtyard, bed that hasn't been slept in for months standing by the wall opposite plain wooden door, out of sight of anyone who would try to look from the outside and a nightstand, where a glass vase stood with a single flower in bloom. Golden rays of sun caressing its petals, it looked as if it was made of pure burning flames - a fire lily. Raven looked at it for long moments, just standing there near the trapdoor, his tanned mien a mixture of love and longing before his eyes fell on a photograph standing right next to it and he moved closer, picking it up. There were three people smiling back at him, all wearing matching Imperial Knights' uniforms. Two men - one with long magenta hair matching the color of his eyes, pale pointed face tinted with rosy blush he looked as if someone was pulling the corners of his mouth up by force, the other Raven himself, though few years and many wrinkles younger, deep-black hair shoved behind his ears so that his whole face would be visible - and a woman with short auburn hair, cute dimples in her full cheeks and eyes of forget-me-not blue shining with laughter mirrored by her full red lips. Somehow she was squeezed between them, her arms around their necks it looked at first as if she wanted to strangle them both.

Raven's eyes burned with supressed tears as he remembered the day this picture was taken. Yeager complained about it constantly, refusing to go through with such 'stupidity', untill Casey dragged him infront of the camera by the arm and held him in place while Raven rolled on the ground in fits of laughter, finally able to calm down and stand up again after more than ten minutes. But those were happier times. Before the war. Before...

He couldn't look at it any longer. Fist clenching, the First Captain of the Imperial Knights put the photograph back, breath hitching in his chest as he inhaled deeply, turning to where his sun-colored uniform was lying on the bed, waiting for him to get changed. He frowned at it.

Even so, barely five minutes later Captain Schwann Oltorain walked out of his room, arms and legs clad in gilded armor, blastia replacing the heart he had lost both literaly and metaphorically ten years ago safely hidden away underneath soft orange fabric, Imperial Shortsword dangling at his side, right hand resting on its hilt and raven hair loose, falling over his forhead like a dark silk curtain hiding one of his sea-blue eyes. However his steps did not lead him directly to the Commandant's office, at least not yet. Instead, he walked through the palace corridors, only briefly inclining his head whenever a soldier saluted him and out into one of the more spacious courtyards used for the Knights' sword practice. After all Alexei surely knew he was here the moment he appeared at the city gates.

The loud bickering that reaching his ears, drowning even the clang of metal against metal of Knights honing their skills by dueling each other, Schwann knew this was the right place. And sure enough, when he turned a corner there they were - three soldeirs from his own brigade, judging by their uniforms. One short and pulpy, the other tall and skinny with head shaped like a street lamp and the third and oldest one yelling at them so that his short dark moustache painfuly stood out against his purple face.

"YOU USELESS IDIOTS! HOW COULD YOU LET HIM GET AWAY AGAIN? YOU...YOU..." Leblanc tried to find the right words, settling for smacking his two subordinates over their heads instead when nothing came to mind.

Boccos and Adecor squirmed under his fists, covering themselves with their arms with little success.

"I-It's that pooch of his!" Boccos cried inbetween the blows.

Adecor caught up almost immediately. "We should get rid of the beast for the sake of Zaphias' citizens, I say!"

"Don't you two imbeciles dare to blame your failures to the dog!" Leblanc bellowed, his face now turning a very unhealthy shade of violet and he reached out to smack them both again.

However a deep calm voice from behind his back made him freeze in place at once, wide-eyed and turn around so quickly he almost stumbled over his own feet, as did his two associates. "Is there a problem?"

"C-C-Ca-Captain Schwann!" they all sang in unison, jumping to attention, all previous agitation forgotten.

"N-N-No, Captain! I-it's nothing!" Leblanc stuttered, natural color returning to his cheeks.

Schwann's visible eye narrowed as he scrutinized each of his soldiers in turn. "Leblanc, report!" he commanded.

Entirely forgetting about his underlings' embarassment, the older man snapped his heels together and began to describe their last meeting with a certain wanted criminal going by the name of Yuri Lowell. Schwann had a hard time keeping himself from laughing when he reached the point where Boccos and Adecor followed this Yuri character into the Zaphias Lower City Quarter's Inn, where some of its denizens coaxed them into a drinking contest, resulting in the pair of Knights waking up the next morning with ear-splitting hangover to having their armor stolen by a dog called Rapede so that they were forced to chase him all the way across the Public Quarter in their small clothes to the people's -and Yuri's of course- general amusement. Hearing about the guy now and then while spending the little time he had here, in Zaphias, Schwann thought for a moment it would be worth it to at least get a look at things himself one of these days, if only to see if they were that incompetent or Yuri was that good.

High spirits evoked by his mind playing with that idea, however, dropped below zero the moment he saw a Royal Guard approaching from the other side of the courtyard, casting long shadow as he unmistakably made his way towards them.

"Captain Schwann, sir!" the man saluted, interrupting Leblanc's heated enumeration of Yuri Lowell's charges against the Knights. "Commandant Alexei requires your presence, sir!" he said stiffly.

So now he requires, does he? Schwann wanted to say, but thought better of it, turning back to his three subordinates and waving them away with reasurance that the next time they will be more careful and that Leblanc shouldn't yell so much, unless he wants to die of a heart attack. Then he followed his excort back inside the palace and through many tangled corridors to where Alexei was waiting for him. And his report. Although...

"Where are we going?" he asked a little confused the moment the guard turned right around a corner, instead of left to where the Commandant usualy recieved his agents or visitors and suddenly the feeling of dread creeping up on him since he entered the Capital strenghtened and coiled around his spine like a poisonous snake. For some reason he had a bad feeling about this.

"The Commandant will hear your report in his own personal quarters, sir." the Royal Guard answered stiffly without turning or even slowing down.

Indeed, Schwann could feel the snake slythering lower still to settle in the pit of his stomach. However, there was no way to simply refuse to go any further and he probably wouldn't do that even if there was. To confront Alexei like this, it would be best to keep his wits about him and take a good care not to slip, for it would cost him more than his dignity for sure. Although he couldn't be completely sure either way...

They arrived at the great door to Alexei's chambers much more quickly than Schwann would appreciate and the Guard turned on his heels, opening them to let him in. Listening simply to the sound of his boots muffling as he stepped over the doorsill, the raven-haired Captain entered the darkened quarters automatically and looked around as always. It was... well, definitely more spacious than his place. Many rooms blended together, divided only by thin wooden door or simple feather-light courtains, each at least twice the size of Schwann's own humble abode and much nicely decorated. In his opinion, this seemed nothing less of the Royal Quarter itself in all its splendor. Expensive paintings, vases, figurines made of precious metals standing on luxurious embroidered furniture, blastia bathing the whole conceited beauty of it in soft yellow light that somehow didn't make it into the far corners.

There was nothing Schwann hasn't seen before, yet he never missed the opportunity to admire the pieces of Terca Lumireis' history one could only see here. Not that there were many with such a privilege, though he would change his place gladly with any volunteer in a blink of an eye. Turning his head to the sound of door closing to see the Royal Guard dissapearing behing them left a hollow feeling in his gut, mixed together with vague sense of foreboding he wanted to ignore from the very bottom of his blastia heart. His fists clenched and unclenched.

"What are you waiting for? Come in." a voice reverberated through the quiet and Schwann, his mind already turned to full autopilot, placed one foot infront of the other untill he reached the largest and most illuminated room where Alexei stood infront of a window, watching the burning horizon swallowing the crimson sphere of sun, leaving nothing but a slight mauve tint as the skies slowly turned the deepest shade of indigo. Fire, maintained by yet another blastia, burst to life within the fireplace few steps from Alexei's desk, made out of the best quality Sakura tree wood to rival even that of the Tree of Halure.

"Schwann Oltorain, First Captain of the Imperial Knights reporting as ordered, Your Excellency." the dark-haired archer chanted, standing to attention and snapping his heels the same way everybody else did in his presence, head held high.

Silence fell between them for what felt like hours and Schwann began to feel the ache of his muscles protesting against standing in such rigid position for too long, then Alexei finally turned to him, silvery hair lining his pale handsome face shaded by the firelight, heavy-lidded crimson eyes shining with soft amusement that chilled to the bone, essence of sheer raw power enveloping the whole of his tall slender figure.

"Why so formal, Captain?" he spoke with deep velvety voice that caressed the mind and enthralled senses. So different from the usual strict way he talked. "Relax."

And Schwann obeyed automatically, making himself more comfortable without slouching and for the first time since he arrived here his eyes took in the whole sight arising before him and couldn't prevent a gulp for Alexei was wearing nothing but a simple silk breeches and shirt holding together only by a thin string of leather, what looked like his usual uniform at first glance turned out to be gossamer haori thrown casually over his shoulders. Had Schwann not been aware of the devious personality hiding behind the divine exterior, he would probably consider the man standing before him a seraphim descended from the heavens, however knowing full well what Alexei was capable of to reach his goals, there was only one word to describe him - a demon.

He reached into the folds of his clothes, taking out his report and handing it to the Commandant, trying not to stare too much at the man's almost bare chest. Fortunately, Alexei took the papers without a word and those devilish crimson eyes lowered to skim through the pages.

"What about the apatheia the Guilds were searching for?" he asked without looking up from the lines of Schwann's neat handwriting.

The raven-haired Captain shook his head. "No sign of it, sir. Although the Ruin's Gate-"

"Is none of our concern for the time being." Alexei interrupted him abruptly, snapping Schwann's report shut and throwing it onto his desk with a loud thud. When his eyes locked with sea-blue ones, the Captain couldn't supress a reflexive shiver. For some reason this conjured a small smile on the other man's face.

"You seem on edge, Schwann." he said in the same velvety voice singing a false lullaby to its victims before the beast itself devours them. "Perhaps you are tired after the journey? It's quite a long way from Dahngrest after all and traveling is always so tiring." Alexei walked towards one of his expensive-looking cupboards lining the walls and took out a glass jar full of golden liquid, pouring it into two glasses with ice clinking at the bottom.

One he kept for himself, the other he handed over to the archer. "Please make yourself at home." and when Schwann moved again without realizing to take it, he smiled. "And I'm sure there's no need for you to wear armor here, yes? Take it off."

At that point the First Captain of the Knights felt like he was about to choke on the alcohol he brought to his lips without really paying attention to what he was doing, for he could clearly hear the order as well as the unspoken threat edged into his superior's words. Of course, he should have seen this coming from the very first moment. Sending a Royal Guard for him, guiding him all the way to Alexei's personal quarters, the Commandant's clothes and the way he behaved... there was no mistaking the signs now as much as he strived to ignore them this whole time. Not that it would help him to turn around and walk away even if he attempted to do so. Walking out on the most powerful man of the Imperium wasn't really an option. And Schwann already knew the drill as well as the consequences of disobedience.

Inwardly bracing himself for what was about to happen, he put his glass down and began removing the blood-red pauldron protecting his left shoulder, gilded plate covering his arms and finally slipping out of the heavy boots reaching high up by the middle of his thighs - naturally all of it as slowly as he dared without raising too much suspicion from the man now facing the burning fireplace, though Schwann could be sure he was watching his every move out of the corner of his eye.

And sure enough, the moment he straightened up again, armor discarded at his feet and panic tugging at the edges of his mind still more insistently, a pair of strong hands rested on his shoulders before sliding unusualy gently along his arms and hot breath on the skin of his neck as nimble fingers reached to the front to unfasten the jerkin of his uniform.

"Well now, isn't this better?" voice purred into his ear, seductive and dangerous and Schwann could suddenly feel blood rushing through his veins at amazing speed and the heart he had lost so long ago hammering against his ribs, though he knew it was impossible. He didn't want this. Not again. But there was no other choice. He was helpless. A fly trapped within a spider's web knowing its life depended on the predator's whim.

A chill ran up and down his spine when Alexei's hands slipped under his shirt, ice-cold fingertips lightly trailing across smooth tanned skin of the archer's clavicle and further south over lean muscles of chest and abdomen, shifting with each breath, to work on the leather belt. It gave in easily, falling to the floor with a metal clang of the shortsword still clinging to it and Schwann's breath hitched in his throat suddenly gone dry as his commander caressed the alluring curve of his hips again on his way up, taking the fabric of the Captain's shirt along untill it slipped off his shoulders, puddling at their feet.

The goad of panic prickling somewhere at the back of his mind now shot through his body like a bolt of lightning, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up and eyes dilate as it claimed him, overwhelming reason and paralysing nerves. Schwann wanted to scream. To run away from all this and hide, never to be seen or heard from again. Anything to just make it stop before the _'fun' _-as Alexei liked to call it- truly begins, but there was no way he could do such a thing and so he could only clench his teeth and go through with it untill the Commandant's hunger is sated, by what time he feared there won't be much of him left - body or soul.

Hard bite at the crook of his neck prevented Schwann from once again protecting the remainder of his sanity by turning to autopilot untill he could breathe freely again and there was no mistake Alexei did it on purpose to keep him focused on the task at hand, as if he knew what the raven-haired archer was trying to do.

"Don't go spacing out on me, my beautiful creation." the Commandant purred in his ear, griping Schwann's wrists and hoisting his arms above his head while turning the man to face him.

Crimson eyes settled upon the Blastia glowing softly where human heart would usualy reside and his free hand lowered, long slender admiring fingers touching the slightly warm vermilion jewel and cold metal smoothly blending with the skin and muscles. Self-satisfied smirk formed on Alexei's handsome face and Schwann had but a moment's warning before the silver-haired commandant's arm crept around his waist and he was pulled towards him, while hot lips claimed his for their own in a harsh demanding kiss the likes of which always led to bites and bruises blossoming on soft tanned skin, the marks of ownership. Of slavery.

He gave in to it, long since taught not to struggle, for it would only make things worse for him and so he forced himself to calm his minds, pushing the panicking thoughts back to the deepest corners of his soul, thus not feeling particularly surprised when his knees buckled, step stopped by the edge of an embroidered king-sized bed and he fell onto his back into mellow pearl-white sheets with Alexei's heated body on top of him, lips pressed against lips, wrists pinned down by a single large, sword-calloused hand, while the other one made a quick work of his trousers, sneaking inside.

More out of reflex than with any actual intention, Schwann bit hard on the tongue forcing its way past his own to dominate the warm cavern of his mouth and there was a hiss of pain and then his head snapped to the side, neck cracked loudly from the force of the slap his little act of defiance earned for him. Feeling like he would never be able to turn his head again, he realized how horribly wrong he was barely seconds later when Alexei gripped his chin and yanked, the forceful motion bringing entirely new type of pain to the already aching muscles and as their eyes met again there was cruel pleasure shining in the crimson of the Commandant's playfully narrowed ones, tinted a little with dissapointment when Schwann refused to let but a single cry of weakness escape his lips.

However, no matter how hard he fought the shame and disgust that made his insides squirm like many little worms, his body was betraying him and he couldn't do anything but helplessly wish for the burning arousal bulding up in his crotch to go away, though recieving quite the opposite reaction with Alexei's graceful long fingers wrapped around it, stroking the hardening need while waiting for any audible sign of pleasure scraping through his victim's throat.

And there it was, more like a gasp muffled by bite on lower lip, but it could not be mistaken for anything else and tidal wave of desire surged through his steadily heating body upon hearing that sweet sweet sound, making him shiver with delight.

"No need to hold back." Alexei whispered barely audibly, planting little kisses over Schwann's jawline and the soft skin of his ear. "Let me hear your beautiful voice. It's been so long..." leaving a wet trail along the nape of the raven-haired man's neck he continued south to roll lazily over the prominent clavicle. "And you are one of very few pleasure a man like me can indulge himself in." a kiss on the crook of the collarbone, hot breath traveling along the ribs and then teeth nibbling on a perked rosy nipple only to be exchanged for warm wet tongue rolling over and around it, followed by a thumb brushing against the tip of the archer's considerable arousal, sweeping off a bead of moisture.

And this time a moan could not be stopped, scraping its way out even through gritted teeth, tanned body arched to the ministrations without its owner having any control over it. He could feel Alexei's smile against his skin and before he had enough time to scold himself for letting his guard down, he heard a slide of fabric against fabric and the next moment his hands were bound with a silk sling hitherto serving as the Commandant's belt to the bed.

"What the-" Schwann growled with surprise and tugged, frowning at his make-shift handcuffs and back at Alexei hovering above him, smirking.

"I've decided to make things a little bit more interesting this time." he said, whiffing aside one unruly strand of silvery hair and with a single swift movement he turned his prey over, gripping the man's hips tightly enough to leave bruises, lifting them up.

It didn't take a genius to realize what was about to happen and the panic Schwann took so much care to stuff deep into his mind bounced right back, stronger than before and his eyes went wide with horror as he felt the heat of Alexei's body pressing against him, eager to slip inside, his teeth sinking hungrily into the skin of his lower back, palm sliding up to rest between his shoulder blades, holding him down.

Frightened and no longer caring about his pride as a man, the raven-haired Captain tugged on his binds again, more strongly this time, but to no avail. This was bad, very very bad. Usualy it hurt a lot, that couldn't be avoided, however Alexei's idea of _'interesting' _coresponded with what other people would most likely call agony and that was something he would very much like to avoid right now, which wasn't really surprising given the circumstances.

However luck, it seems, wasn't on his side today and Schwann's endeavours to free himself were ruined by soft amused chuckles echoing through the dark silent bedroom, more sinister than threats.

"Oh no, you are not alowed to leave just yet." Alexei's voice reverberated in his ears, coiling around his body like a serpent playing with its food, as the man leaned over him, hand pressing against Schwann's back bearing most of his weight, it hurt quite a bit. The free one slid along his thigh and up again, leaving a red trail in its wake. "You are mine, Schwann Oltorain. Your life _belongs_ to me, as does everything that goes along with it. Including your body."

And without any warning, the Commandant's fingers dug into tanned hips to hold the archer in place as he claimed him in a single swift slide that cost him to scream as pain unlike any one could experience on a battlefield invaded his body like a thousand little shards of shattered glass, eyes spontaniously watering, fingernails scratching the wood of the bed to divert his attention. It wasn't helping in the slightest. With every splinter scarifying the vulnerable skin under Schwann's fingernails much more excrutiating pain paralyzed his body each time Alexei pulled out and pushed back in at full stretch, setting a regular quick pace that earned him the most delicious cry he had ever heard, scrambling out of the Captain's mouth with each brutal thrust.

But soon the pain subsided, though it might as well have been his slowly descending into the liberating warmth of unconsciousness Schwann felt spreading over him like a blanket. The voice of his tormentor groaning with pleasure -entirely ignoring his lover's own needs- ringed in his ears as if coming from behind a veil, drops of sweat shattering upon the tanned skin of his back went unnoticed as did his own crimson blood trickling down his inner thighs to blossom on the white sheets underneath them. His prayers for this to stop were forgotten and he only looked forward to give himself up to the darkness that was slowly swallowing him whole. It promised such wonders the raven-haired Captain hadn't even realized it when Alexei pounded forcefully into him once, twice, three more times before tilting his head up and crying out as he reached his peak, completely oblivious to the hot wet blood staining his crotch.

The bruising grip on Schwann's hip eased off and his knees gave way, letting him slide onto the sheets, already half-gone while Alexei panted heavily, for a few moment only enjoying the afterglow of such strong orgasm, before he moved to the edge of the bed, finally realizing the blood drying on the sheets. One thin silver eyebrow raised in mild amusement.

"It appears I've let myself get carried away." he murmured more to himself than to the beautiful slender body lying limply on his bed, only barely conscious. He leaned to run two graceful fingers up along the spine. "But no matter, I shall simply wait untill you've recovered enough to continue."

He laughed derisively as Schwann's muscles tensed under his touch, most likely from the prospect of having to endure more of this. Sudden knock on the door, however, caught his attention.

"Sir? His Highness prince Ioder requests your presence, Your Excellency." uncertain voice spoke out of the darkness of the adjoining room, its owner not daring to go any further.

Alexei's eyebrows knitted together in a frown. Ioder wants to see him at this time of night? "Of course, wait for me outside." he commanded, contemplaiting what in the name of the Ancients could that little twerp possibly want _now_, while taking back the sash binding Schwann to the bed, thus causing the man to open his sea-blue eyes, now red and glittering with tears.

There was a sound of door closing and when Alexei made sure they were alone again, he leaned over to the raven-haired man once more, fingers reaching into his silky locks now damp with sweat as if to sweep the strands away from his oddly glossy eyes before taking a fistful, yanking his head up and planting a kiss on his forehead. Schwann flinched, feeling some of his hair parting with his skull and it amused the Commandant.

"It seems lady Luck has a soft spot for you, Captain." he said, smirking, heavy-lidded crimson eyes glistening from the firelight. "You are dismissed for now. We'll talk further tomorrow." and he let go, walking out of sight to wash and dress up properly. Few minutes later the great door closed behind him as well.

Schwann did not move for what felt like hours. His mind still clinging to consciousnes, he kept his eyes closed, breathing deeply only to feel the sensation of air flowing into his lungs and out again, trying not to think that the very thing enabling him to do so is the hermes blastia taking the place of his heart. Many would sacrifice anything to be given a second chance to live and yet for someone who did not care about living, it felt more like a curse. Like the blastia was a chain binding him to the man who had given it to him. Man who without shame or mercy ravaged his body and soul whenever he felt like it. Man Schwann hated from the very core of his being, though found himself unable to stand up against. Commandant Alexei.

Burying his face in a pillow, the First Captain of the Imperial Knights frowned into the soft white fabric, trying to move his hands and discovering that his limbs still listened to the signals from his brain. He lifted himself up on his elbows, looking around. The fire still burned brightly, though he could not feel its warmth and the air was heavy with mild fragrance of flowers he did not register before, mixed together with the scent of his recent humiliation. Very carefuly, his lower body painfuly protesting against every little move he made, Schwann gathered himself up, pulling up his trousers and searching for the rest of his clothes scattered all over the place. He needed to get away before Alexei returns, just as he was instructed to. And frankly, even if that wasn't the case he wouldn't want to stay here any longer than was absolutely necessary now that he regained control over his body again.

Fully dressed, shoulder, arms and legs once again protected by gilded armor, he opened the door to the hall, peeking out just a little bit to see whether there was somebody around. Fortunately for him the corridor was deserted, which conjured a small smile on his face as he slipped outside, walking as normally as he could with the lower half of his body still aching terribly and surprisingly soon he arrived to his own quarters, closing the simple wooden door behind him and leaning onto them, head bowed, face hidden behind the veil of silky jet-black hair.

How long was this going to continue? For how long was Alexei going to let him live to do his bidding? How many times had he returned to this very room already, his body broken and spirit shattered to pieces? A chess piece, the Commandant called him many times. Puppet. A tool. Though a tool could kill its master if not handled properly. Schwann wondered, would he be able to one day raise a bow against the man who owned his life? Will his debt to Alexei ever be repaid? And then what? Will he be allowed to die the way he was supposed to ten years ago?

A familiar words resurfaced in his tired mind. _"You know he's going kill you one day, don't you?" _

His lips curled up almost imperceptibly. "Joining Casey, huh?" the whisper was barely audible, though it echoed through the silent room clearly. "Doesn't sound that bad."

A warmth he hasn't felt in a very long time spread from the blastia in his chest to the very tips of his fingers and suddenly he felt like he wasn't alone anymore. Like he was being watched over and protected. What was this feeling? Schwann raised his head, searching for familiar silhouette of his friend looming from the shadows, but there was nobody there. He shook his head, berating himself for being a delusional fool. His gaze fell onto the bundle of clothes he wore each time he assumed the identity of Raven of Altosk. Perhaps that perverted old man had more courage than Schwann could ever hope to gain after all.

With a snigger he took it up and dissapeared into the bathroom, emerging moments later, no longer the Captain of the Knights with all his duties and responsibilities, but Raven, Don Whitehorse's right-hand man with black hair tied into a fuzzy ponytail not unlike a pineapple, ever-present grin on his face and sea-blue eyes shining with mischief. This man had nothing to do with Schwann Oltorain. They were two completely different people. And that means Raven couldn't stay here in other person's room. After all trespassing was a crime. And criminals should be put behind bars.

Getting caught was only a matter of minutes once he walked out of Schwann's room to tackle the first Knight he encountered, waving at him and greeting him politely. The man snapped out of the shock he recieved quite quickly and as Raven made a run for it just to make things a little bit more fun, he managed to run into a 5-man patrol the moment he turned a corner. They apprehended him easily, throwing him into prison for the authorities to decide on his fate. He did not struggle, thanking the Knights properly for taking good care of him, laughing at the dumbstruck expressions on their faces as he did so and flopping onto the small, rough and quite uncomfortable bed -after routing out the rats and cocroaches residing there- as they left, shaking their heads in disbelieve a murmuring among themselves of idiots and deathwishes.

And as he expected, Raven slept like a log that night, memories of the previous evening never making it into his dreams as if blocked by the wall that seperated him from the man Schwann Oltorain was, to be awakened the next morning to a would-be silent conversation of two prison guards exchanging news of Zaphias Lower Quarter blastia core getting stolen, resulting in the magical device going out of control, floodind the lower parts of the city. This was most troubling. However as he was extracting more information out of one of the more talkative prison guards, the sound of footsteps and voices made them both turn their attention to a group of Knights from the Cumore brigade, quite unceremoniously dragging in some poor sap after beating the hell out of him, throwing his unconscious body into a cell next to Raven's.

The archer saw only a flicker of long black hair through the bars and heard the Knights laughing as they recalled the 'fun' they apparently had with him. Raven crimped his nose in distaste. Cumore and Alexei. Those two would make a good couple. He felt sympathy for the unconscious black-haired youth already, even as the fading voices of Cumore's soldiers fluently changed the subject to Boccos and Adecor of the Schwann brigade getting flattened trying to apprehend the boy themselves.

Hand reached up to his chin as always when he was contemplating something, eyes somewhat distant, face suddenly austere. So this was the infamous Yuri Lowell he had heard so much about...? It could be quite illuminating to talk to him for a bit once he wakes up.

Though sitting in prison just waiting tended to get quite boring after a while, for prisoners as well as for the guards themselves...

"... so as I was sayin' the thief made off with a priceless treasure from the noble's mansion." Raven explained again, lying as comfortably as possible on his bed with his hands crossed under his head, nodding earnestly to the guard pacing back and forth infront of his cell, though enjoying this little story-telling session out of pure boredom quite a bit.

The guard scoffed. "I know, I know. Then he was caught and the loot was returned, right?" he recited, evidently not at all impressed by Raven's theatrical performance.

Raven looked at him the way one would look at someone unable to comprehend the most simple thing. "No. See. That's just the nobility tryin' ta keep things quiet. The treasure in the mansion right now's a fake."

"You're pulling my leg!" the guard shook his head after a few seconds, deciding this was all just a big fat lie, though stopping infront of Raven's cell for a while now, still not completely sure.

And the archer did not intend to let this opportunity slip, he had far too much fun with this guy, though as he was opening his mouth to speak again, he realized something was different. "Hey, ya didn't hear it from me, bub. The Dark Wings are goin' nuts lookin' for the hideout."

"You mean the thives' guild?" the guard's voice changed rapidly into one of great interest and surprise and Raven smiled to himself at the reaction his words evoked. Bingo.

But apparently the guard realized his slip as well, clearing his throat loudly to hide the excitement that had overtaken him for a moment. "That's enough out of you!" he said, trying to cover for it. "Almost meal time." and walked away, though the seeds of doubt firmly planted into his mind.

Still grinning, Raven didn't mind being left alone again, he had his fun and also there was something much more interesting here now. He turned his head slightly to the side, looking at the wall separating him from the young man in the adjacent cell. "Hey, neighbour! You're awake, right? You gotta be gettin' tired from keepin' so quiet."

As he expected, a voice carried to him from behind the moist stone wall, slightly arrogant from what he could tell, but honest and familiar in the way he felt like he was listening to himself from way back when he was a recruit in the Kights, green as the grass of the Palace gardens.

"You think that little story up all by yourself, old man? You must have plenty of time on your hands." it said, amused, though in a good way.

Raven made a mental note in his mind, sure he can proceed the way he intended to, now without fear of blowing things up. Idle chat could provide the most crucial informations where one would never expected to find them.

"'Old man?' Now you've gone a hurt this old man's feelings!" he said in a wounded voice, steering the conversation carefuly the way he wanted, though having the slightest notion he was being cooperated with on purpose.

This Yuri Lowell intrigued him more and more with each word, especially at the mention of Mordio, the top member of the blastia research conducted by mages of Aspio. Now Yuri's connection to this fabled schollar was something worth investigating. Perhaps he would be able to follow the youth once he gets out to see what does this all have to do with the missing blastia core, which Raven was sure somehow formed the centre of it. His fingers enclosed around the cold metal of keys jingling in his inner pocket, while he was still talking. He carefuly extracted one, thinking of how to slip it into Yuri's cell when a sound of footsteps interrupted him. The one he dreaded to hear, but knew would come sooner or later.

He sat up on his bed, sea-blue eyes locking with crimson ones of Commandant Alexei, standing infront of his cell, the usual snotty expression on his face turning to irritation upon finding the First Captain of his Knights locked in jail like some petty criminal, dressed in rags that could hardly be called clothes in his oppinion, smiling at him as if getting thrown in here for the rest of the night was the most logical thing in the world.

Silence fell between them, so thick one could hear the sound of a pin hitting the cold stone floor before Alexei finally spoke, his voice resonating dully through the dark place, apparently resentful for some other reason besides wasting the whole morning looking for Raven. "Out."

The archer got up, scratching the back of his head to Alexei's obvious displeasure."Ah, well, just when things were gettin' good." he sighed.

"Hurry up!" the silver-haired Commandant barked back, shooting a glance at one of the prison guards who jerked and hurriedly opened Raven's cell.

The arched walked out, not interrupting the eye contact with Alexei, untill the man himself turned away to head out, Raven at his heels with self-satisfies smile now tugging at his lips, thumbing the prison key in his pocket before taking it out and 'accidentally' tripping as they were passing Yuri, descending to one knee. The youth followed his example, arching black thin eyebrows when Raven shoved the key underneath the bars under the pretense of fixing his shoe.

"Just who are you anyway?" he asked quietly, a little impressed and a lot suspicious, reaching out to grab it. "What does the head of the Knights want with you?"

Raven scrutinized him out of the corner of his eye, taking in all the details of Yuri's appearance. His posture spoke of a fighter, obsidian depths of his eyes revealed that sort scrambling for every bite of bread and drop of water from a very young age, Lower Quarter indeed and most likely orphan too. Clearly Yuri was climatized to violence, used to solving problems with fists and blade rather than conversation. There was a bodhi blastia on his wrist - a former knight then. Judging by the means he's been brought here and from what Schwann's men said, he did not have good relations with the Imperium, so he must have left on his own. Perhaps after seeing what the Knights were really about? Raven remembered some of Leblanc's reports on the many encounters with Yuri Lowell involving mostly him and the Knights or a group of bored nobles harassing someone from the Lower Quarter. Another dream of protecting the people he cared about crushed by cruel reality, it seems. Or maybe tragedy of some kind that had opened his eyes?

"Beneath the statue of the goddess..." the archer whispered back, quite satisfied with the amount of information he gathered, though still very much curious, ignoring Yuri's question entirely.

Alexei's impatience prevented him from saying more. "What are you doing? I said hurry up!" the Commandant called, coming to a halt.

Raven jumped to his feet. "Alright, easy. I'm comin'." and ran to catch up with his waiting escort.

As they were climbing the steps out of the dungeon, he dared to look back for a fraction of a second, wishing good luck to the boy and for some reason feeling strangely giddy about meeting him again. And he will make sure they do in very near future.

* * *

**Hell, this is one long fic o.O Well, hope you liked it anyway :)**** In case you found some of the dialogues familiar, yes, I borrowed a few lines from ToV itself, going for Raven's views rather than Yuri's which we already know, yes?**

**Notes: ****haori ****is a japanese hip- or thigh-length kimono-like jacket**

**Reviews are always welcome! =3**


End file.
